Player to Watch – Felix Hernandez:The reigning Cy Young award winner isn’t off to his best start, and certainly not what he was doing last season. But Hernandez is still

SP Felix Hernandez, SEA (Leon Halip/Getty Images)

one of the elite pitchers in the game and can shut down any offense.

What makes him stand out is he’s facing a Phillies offense that has scored 43 runs during their seven-game winning streak. What also makes it interesting is instead of facing Phils left-hander Cole Hamels, he will take on rookie Vance Worley.

This season, Hernandez is 7-5 with a 3.30 ERA. He is fifth in the majors in innings pitched (106 1/3) and strike outs (103). He’s also allowed less than three runs only once in his last four starts.

Overview: The Mariners are a .500 ball club. With that being said, this series should be a breeze for the Phils, who offense is alive and the pitching has still been incredible.

Chase Utley isn’t just back for the Phils. He’s been an absolute machine. He’s hitting .359 with two homers and nine RBIs in his last 10 games, increasing his average up to a .275. 14 of his 22 hits this season have all come in that span. 10 of his 22 hits this season are for extra bases.

Shane Victorino has gotten his average back up to a .292 and has the team’s second best OBP with a .359 (Carlos Ruiz has a .362 despite hitting .245).

The Mariners are hitting .228 as a team, good for dead last in the majors. They are 28th in the majors in runs scored and 26th in long flies. The Phils have climbed into the top 20 in all three categories with their recent improvement in hitting.